Coaches climbing charts after shaky starts

Published 4:00 am, Monday, October 6, 2003

We open the six R's by Raving about some first-year coaches, not only because of their immediate success but for working their way through potential disaster.

Bill Doba saw his Washington State team blow a 19-3 lead in a demoralizing loss to Notre Dame in his second game as a head coach, but instead of sinking toward a predicted seventh-place Pac-10 finish, the 5-1, No.

12 Cougars might be the conference favorite after routs of Oregon and Arizona.

In Mike Riley's second game back with Oregon State, the Beavers dropped a heart-breaking 16-14 game to Fresno State when quarterback Derek Anderson had a meltdown, completing just 15 of 44 passes with five interceptions. They have won all four games since then, Anderson has been impressive, and they are ranked No. 24.

Baylor's Guy Morriss lost his first two games to low-profile teams Alabama-Birmingham and North Texas, the latter by the score of 52-14. The Bears' win Saturday over Colorado was their third straight, matching their highest win total since 1996.

John L. Smith was headed for a quick hot seat when Michigan State blew a 19-7 lead in the final 70 seconds at home against Louisiana Tech in his third game. Now the Spartans, who were not among the 60 teams who received votes in the two major preseason polls, are No. 21.

Karl Dorrell and Urban Meyer, both 39, seemed destined for premature aging. A missed two-point conversion gave Meyer's Utah team a two-point loss to Texas A&M in its second game, and UCLA lost to Colorado and lost its starting quarterback in Dorrell's first game. Utah has beaten Cal, Colorado State and Oregon since then, and UCLA is 3-2 after outscoring nationally ranked Washington 39-0 in the second half of its 46-16 victory Saturday.

RAGES

How ridiculous is this? Cal defensive back Daymeion Hughes was hit with an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for flipping into the end zone at the end of his 72-yard interception return that cut the deficit to 14-7. He did not intimidate, incite or demean anyone. He was guilty of attempting "to focus attention on himself."

It's a rule created by old men trying to legislate the game into being the same sport it was when they played. It's not the same game. The cliché is that players, when they score, "should act like they've been there before." Hughes, a true freshman, had not been there before as a collegian and, as a defensive player, might not get there again.

The resulting 15-yard penalty on the kickoff helped Oregon State take possession at midfield, and three plays later, the Beavers scored to make it 21-7. Imagine imposing a similar rule on soccer players after they scored a goal.

RAGS

No. 2 Miami has yet to beat a team that's currently ranked and was on the verge of losing two of those games. Now, the Hurricanes are without their top- shelf running back, Frank Gore (torn anterior cruciate ligament) and are likely to move wide receiver Jason Geathers to running back to support Jarrett Payton for the remaining schedule, which includes road games against No. 5 Florida State, No. 4 Virginia Tech and No. 15 Pittsburgh and a home game against No. 13 Tennessee. Having said that, Miami has won 39 of its past 40 games.

RICHES

Despite finishing ranked in 33 of the past 34 seasons, including 24 top- 10 rankings, Nebraska was unranked this preseason, but now resides at No. 10. Iowa, which played in the Orange Bowl last season, also was unranked, but is at No. 14 after beating Michigan.

Random Rant

San Jose State has yet to beat a Division I-A team this season, failing to hold a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 28-24 loss to Rice, which ranked last nationally in passing but competed seven straight passes on its final two scoring drives.

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